Tesla sinks as it continues to burn through cash

The electric car maker announced an adjusted loss of $US0.69 per share on revenue of $US2.28 billion. Those numbers were both better than Wall Street expectations of a $US1.04 loss on revenue of $US2.13 billion. However, those analyst expectations might not have factored in the impact of SolarCity, which Tesla acquired in November.

Additionally, the company continued to burn through cash, losing $US448 million from operating activities in the fourth quarter.

Tesla’s guidance was lukewarm and ambiguous, saying it would deliver between 47,000 and 50,000 Model X vehicles in the first half of the year. It didn’t give guidance for the full year.

Thursday’s slide is a welcome sign for short sellers in the stock who have been getting steamrolled as of late. They had lost more than $US2.3 billion betting against the stock as it continued to rip higher at the start of 2017.